Agriculture is humankind’s
oldest and still its most important economic activity, providing the
food, feed, fiber, and fuel necessary for our survival. With the global
population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, agricultural production
must double if it is to meet the increasing demands for food and
bioenergy.
Given limited land, water and labor resources, it is estimated that the efficiency of
agricultural productivity must increase by 25% to meet that goal, while
limiting the growing pressure that agriculture puts on the environment.

Robotics and automation can play
a significant role in society meeting 2050 agricultural production
needs. For six decades robots have played a fundamental role in
increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of industrial production
and products. In the past twenty years, a similar trend has started to
take place in agriculture, with GPS- and vision-based self-guided
tractors and harvesters already being available commercially. More
recently, farmers have started to experiment with autonomous systems
that automate or augment operations such as pruning, thinning, and
harvesting, as well as mowing, spraying, and weed removal. In the fruit
tree industry, for example, workers riding robotic platforms have shown
to be twice as efficient as workers using ladders. Advances in sensors
and control systems allow for optimal resource and integrated pest and
disease management. This is just the beginning of what will be a
revolution in the way that food is grown, tended, and harvested.

The mission of the RAS Agricultural Robotics and Automation (AgRA) technical committee is to
promote research, development, innovation, and standardization in
robotics and automation to enable safe, efficient, and economical
agricultural production. AgRA is a forum where academic and industrial
researchers and engineers meet to advance the state-of-the-art in
sensing, mobility, manipulation, and management
technologies applied to production of grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts,
and horticulture and nursery crops. We welcome anyone interested in this
exciting area to join and contribute to our mission.

Announcements

We are launching a new initiative related to the development of standards for
agricultural robotics and automation. This initiative will run as a separate
mailing list, to keep it focused and avoid filling up your inbox with unwanted email.
If you are interested in participating in the conversation about AgRA standards, please
sign up.